TWILIGHT

OK, so I am feeling like a 12-year-old little girl right now.  But, I am totally crazy about the Twilight Saga books written by Stephanie Meyer.  My sister and BFF, Wendy, told me about the first book, Twilight and said that I absolutely had to buy the book.  This was about 4 days ago and tonight I have made it through the first two books of the series (Twilight and New Moon). 

I should explain though - Wendy and I do not always agree on books or movies.  Wendy has recommended movies like Aquamarine and Legally Blonde in the past - stating that these movies were "amazing and had really deep meanings."  Sorry Wen, but I just did not find any deeper type of message in Aquamarine or in Legally Blonde (sorry Reese, loved the Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2 but no deeper meaning).  So - I was a bit hesitant and worried about buying the first book - Twilight - especially since it is sold in the "teen reading" section of most bookstores.

I must say though - that so far, the Twilight series has been incredible! Who doesn't love a great love story.  And ever since I read about the Vampire Lestat (Anne Rice - Interview with the Vampire written in 1976 - can you believe it?) - I have kind of had a thing for vampires.  So - I had to give this a shot.  And - if not for being somewhat ill today - I would have been lining up with all of the other teens to buy tickets to see the movie Twilight today!  So what if I am twice their age? I just cannot wait to see Bella (played by Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) fall in love! I am curious to see if my imagination of these characters (while reading the books) will be anything like those created for the movie? I think I will have to see this tomorrow.

Thanks again Wendy for turning me on to such a great series and for turning me back into a 12-year-old girl! Can't wait to see this with you tomorrow.  And - for all of you who think you are too sophisticated or old for this book - just read the first 20 pages and call me after that.  I am sure you will be hooked too!

Happy reading and thank you Stephanie Meyer for such a great story! 

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Study: Away-facing strollers stress babies

Interesting article on CNN health. I have a stroller that can be positioned to face either way. My hubby said to me today, "Good job on picking the stroller honey." And then he looked and Marisa and said, "You have a smart Mommy." Made me feel good. :) I love my stroller. I'm just annoyed I took it to the pumpkin patch and got some dirt in the wheels and now have a slight squeaking problem. Nothing a little lube won't fix hopefully!

Announcing Bronx Mowgli Wentz

Congratulations to rocker parents Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Pete Wentz! Ashlee delivered a healthy baby boy last night, Thursday Nov. 20th, according to People. Bronx Mowgli Wentz is 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and 20 1/2 inches.

Stokke Tripp Trapp

So my hubby recently put together our brand new Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair in walnut that I received from my sister and brother-in-law. (Thanks guys!) I was really anxious it was going to be one of those fancy pants, overpriced, over hyped baby things that I was going to regret, but so far - I love it!! It looks modern and feels sturdy. Marisa isn't quite sitting up on her own all the way yet, but she's teething so it won't be long now before we'll need it. I have grand visions of pulling her right up to the table with us and teaching her table manners early on. (We'll see how that goes.) For now, I'm in search of the "pink tales" cushion that you can add on to make the seat a little more comfortable for baby. I just looked online and saw a whole mess of new, cute colors for the cushions as well as the high chair itself. Kinda bummed though, they've improved the baby rail to match the color of your high chair and also has a high back for more support - but on the other hand it costs twice as much so I'm cool with what I've got! Here are some of my favorites...

Pin-Up Girl Party

My Pin-Up girl themed lingerie party is this Thursday! Aaack! I sometimes forget how being a Mommy makes everything take 10x longer to finish. I have trouble cleaning during the day when Marisa is awake, so most things have to get done at night. I'm so excited though, I can't wait. I'm making Champage Punch. I made it for another party but unfortunately was 9 months pregnant and couldn't try it. It was a huge hit though so I'm thrilled I have another occasion to make it. If you've got any holiday parties coming up, here's the recipe (courtesy of Epicurious.com):

Servings: Makes about 16 cups, serving 12.

Ingredients
1 cup Triple Sec
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup Chambord
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
1 quart chilled ginger ale
2 chilled 750-ml. bottles dry champagne

Preparation

In a bowl combine the Triple Sec, the brandy, the Chambord and the pineapple juice and chill the mixture, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight. In a large punch bowl combine the Triple Sec mixture, the ginger ale, and the champagne and add ice cubes.

Enjoy! Check back after Thursday to see how the lingerie shower went, and for more ideas and inspiration on throwing your own pin-up girl party.

Laila Ali is an Ooh La La Mama!

Boxing champion, "Dancing with the Stars" alum, and new mommy, Laila Ali recently emailed us this cute picture of her son CJ in our Maya the Monkey onesie. I wanted to see some more pics of cute little Curtis, so I went to Laila's site, http://www.lailaali.com/, and found out she has a baby blog. In addition to listing OLLM's onesies as some of her favorite baby items, Laila shared some healthy recipes and also blogs about her post pregnancy exercise and diet plan. I have to say, what a woman! Laila's exercise plan includes hours of spin classes and fat burning workouts each week and even posted what she typically eats in a day. It's quite motivating. I've lost the baby weight, it's just the 30 extra pounds I gained before pregnancy that I'm having trouble with! Ha! So maybe I won't do spinning class for an hour, but I can take the stroller out for a spin. Baby steps.

CJ also has our Tattoo Onesie and was photographed in OK! magazine wearing our Moto Onesie. CJ's dad is former NFL star Curtis Conway.

Bald Babies No More

This made me laugh and I just had to share...
(Thanks to my friend Nikki for sending it to me!)

Baby Toupee makes "small wigs for small people." We were calling Marisa Fire Marshall Bill for a while as she was losing her hair. They've got four styles. I can't decide between The Bob and The Lil Kim. I think my husband would vote for The Bob...

A Day with Jenny McCarthy

Chris, our Director of Sales and Marketing, Jenny, and Cindy

Ooh La La Mama recently custom designed five new T-shirts for actress, author, and activist, Jenny McCarthy! Jenny was given OLLM’s American Flag Tee for her son, Evan. She loved it so much, she requested five more flag inspired shirts to be photographed for the cover her new book on autism coming out in April. With one day’s notice, Cindy (owner and designer of OLLM) excitedly spent the entire night creating the tees based on the flags of Canada, Guatemala, Israel, Italy and Ireland. Cindy arrived in San Diego the next day on location at a hotel and hand delivered the tees. Jenny was super sweet and so excited to see the new designs. The only problem was, there were now 6 shirts (including the American Flag tee Evan already had) and only 5 models. Jenny wanted a child with red hair. Well, it was meant to be because Cindy’s son, Max, was a perfect fit! The shoot was so much fun and the tees turned out awesome! We can’t wait to show you the cover. For now, check out what went down at the shoot…

Jenny and the photographer...She's such a nice, warm person!!

Show us your muscles boys!

Jenny's son, Evan, with Cindy's son, Max

The whole crew...some of the kids were autistic, some weren't. They all did a wonderful job!

Jenny with Max. Isn't he adorable?

We don’t know the title of the new book yet, but you can check out an excerpt of her last book, Mother Warriors, and clips of Jenny from her appearance on Oprah here. Also, visit Jenny’s site http://www.generationrescue.org/ for info on causes and treatments of autism and support for families of autistic children.

Tattoo You

Love Ooh La La Mama’s tattoo inspired designs? Then you’ll love Kat Von D's new cosmetics line! I’m totally lusting after the painted love lipstick and autograph eyeliner. I was always too scared/indecisive to get a tattoo, but I can play with makeup for days. I stumbled across it because I’m planning a lingerie shower for a friend of mine and it’s going to have a rocker/pin up girl theme. I remembered the opening credits of Kat Von D’s show La Ink was done pin up style, so I started watching the latest season and heard her line was launching at Sephora! The packaging is super cool and features Kat’s favorite rose tattoo. I’m thinking up some fun games to give away some makeup as a prize. Stay tuned for more details on my Lingerie pin-up girl party!

Win Stuff

Talented photographer and close friend of Ooh La La Mama, Kimberlee West, is hosting an Ooh La La Mama contest to win a credit towards one of our designs! All you have to do is visit Kimberlee's blog and post a comment. Hurry, there's only two days left!